Russian President Vladimir Putin and his forcible annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Kremlin-backed referendum in Ukraine

Russia’s parliament will ratify its attempted annexation of four Ukrainian territories, widely condemned internationally as illegal. The lower house gave unanimous approval to it on Monday. The upper house is going to vote on Tuesday.

The other two regions of Donetsk and Luhansk were recognized as independent by Moscow in February. At the time, Putin signed a security pact with them, which he then used as justification to send Russian troops into Ukraine days later.

Putin, however, attempted to claim that the referendums reflected the will of “millions” of people, despite reports from the ground suggesting that voting took place essentially – and in some cases, literally – at gunpoint.

Friday’s ceremony echoed Putin’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, following a Kremlin-backed referendum there in 2014 — a move that most countries still do not recognize to this day.

The Russian president believes that it was a mistake to annex the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Putin does not want to go the path of either the Soviets or the Romanovs. It may be the reason why he was so desperate with his recent moves, such as the addition of 300,000 troops and his saber-rattling.

Russia will now, despite the widespread international condemnation, forge ahead with its plans to fly its flag over some 100,000 square kilometers (38,600 square miles) of Ukrainian territory – the largest forcible annexation of land in Europe since 1945.

Mr. Putin is expected to deliver a “voluminous” speech, his spokesman said. The military struggles in Ukraine are not likely to be downplayed by him. He will probably ignore worldwide denunciations of discredited referendums held in occupied Ukraine on joining Russia, where some were made to vote at gunpoint.

Putin said that people made their choice at the signing ceremony. “And that choice won’t be betrayed” by Russia, he said.

The Russian leader called on Ukraine to end hostilities and hold negotiations with Moscow — but insisted that the status of the annexed territories was not up for discussion.

Putin was joined by Moscow-backed separatist leaders and Kremlin-appointed officials from the four regions, as senior Russian lawmakers and dignitaries looked on.

The concert and rally were to take place outside of the Kremlin, with banners proclaiming “Russia and the newly integrated territories are together forever.”

Russia says that people chose to join the Russian Federation because of staged referendums in Ukranian regions. The process was called a sham by many countries.

Biden said the US will never recognize the claims made by Russia. The result of the so-called referenda were made in Moscow.

Putin, however, framed the decision as a historical justice following the breakup of the Soviet Union that had left Russian speakers separated from their homeland — and the West dictating world affairs according to its own rules.

The West accused Russia of using staged votes to justify annexation of Ukraine’s territory, and even at times it was at the point of a gun.

A missile that hit a bus stop and checkpoint in Zaporizhzhia killed 23 and injured scores. Ukraine blamed the attack on Russia. Moscow’s proxies in the area said Ukrainian forces had launched several strikes in the area.

State of Ukraine: The Last Seven Months of the Russian Army in Ukraine, and the Prospects for an Intensive War on the Middle East

Formal ratification of the territories into the Russian Federation will now move to Russia’s parliament and constitutional court — whose approval is widely seen as a foregone conclusion.

The Russian government annexation has taken place with the help of 300,000 additional troops, who will be deployed to bolster its military campaign in response to the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, Russian officials have openly warned that the newly incorporated territories would be entitled to protections under Russia’s nuclear umbrella.

They join an army already degraded in quality and capability. A large percentage of Russia’s military force in Ukraine have been wounded or killed, as well as their best equipment, during the war. The Russian military leadership is unlikely to know with confidence how this undisciplined composite force will react when confronted with cold, exhausting combat conditions or rumors of Ukrainian assaults. In September, demoralized forces left their positions and equipment in panic in the Kharkiv region.

The war in Ukraine is helping to fuel a push for more influence by far-right groups, because of a relationship between Putin and his fans in the West. In Europe like minded people are trying to promote their views by pointing to their country’s hardship as a cost of helping Ukraine despite the fact that they are linked to poverty and crime in the US. For now, support for Ukraine remains strong in Europe and the US, although flagging among Republicans.

NATO leaders have vowed to stand behindUkraine regardless of how long the war takes, but several European countries are staring down a crippled cost-of-living crisis, and if there is no signs of progress on the battlefield it could endanger public support.

You can read past recaps here. For context and more in-depth stories, you can find more of NPR’s coverage here. Also, listen and subscribe to NPR’s State of Ukraine podcast for updates throughout the day.

Ukrainian forces crossed the Oskil River in late September to push Russian forces eastwards, with Moscow likely preparing to defend Starobilsk and Svatove in Luhansk region according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Many Russians who had not been involved in the war have felt a kinship with it after Mr. Putin ordered the military to be drafted. Many men were drafted who were ineligible due to their age or disability.

The David v. Goliath battle in Iran, Ukraine, and the UK: How women demonstrate bravery in the fight against regimes

Ghitis, a former CNN producer and correspondent, now works as a world affairs columnist. She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. The views she expresses in this commentary are her own. View more opinion on CNN.

There were two groups of demonstrators in London on Sunday. One was waving Ukrainian flags; the other Iranian flags. When they met, they cheered each other, and chanted, “All together we will win.”

For decades autocrats have been gaining ground while democracies looked almost spent, in retreat. Now suddenly, when we least expected, a ferocious pushback against two of the most brazen tyrannies has burst into view. In Ukraine and in Iran, the people have decided to defy the odds for the sake of their dignity, freedom and self-determination.

These David v. Goliath battles show bravery that is almost unimaginable to the rest of us – and is inspiring equally courageous support in places like Afghanistan.

The death of a young woman in Iran last month is believed to be the catalyst. Known as “Zhina,” she died in the custody of morality police who detained her for breaking the relentlessly, violently enforced rules requiring women to dress modestly.

Iranian women have danced around fires and removed their hijabs to throw them into the flames as a way of defiance, despite being mandated by the regime.

It’s why women are climbing on cars, waving their hijab in the air, like a flag of freedom, and gathering crowds of supporters in city streets, and in universities, where security forces are opening fire to try and silence them.

Glory to Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in Syria’s long civil war and the emergence of a few autocrats

After all, it was less than a decade ago that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military entered Syria’s long civil war, helping to save the dictator Bashar al-Assad (as Iran had).

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a plan to seize Ukraine quickly. The plan was to capture Kyiv but they failed to do so.

We will defend our country because it is our truth, and because it is our land, our kids, and we will defend all of this. He said, “That is it.” I only wanted to tell you that. Glory to Ukraine.”

Yesterday, Russia hit at least 11 Ukrainian cities with missiles in its broadest aerial assault against civilians since the invasion’s early days. Some people were able to shelter for only a few hours. Some of them returned to their lives. As my colleague Megan Specia, a Times foreign correspondent, left a shelter in the capital of Kyiv, she saw residents walking dogs and riding electric scooters.

While Tehran and Moscow are seen as pariahs by most of the world, they are still supported by a few autocrats.

According to a western country closely watching Iran’s weapons program, Iran is about to give more powerful weapons to Russia for the fight against Ukraine.

What Putin, Hamedi, and the Rest of the World Can Learn from Their Exorcising Successes: CNN’s Peter Bergen

Both regimes have similar methods of oppression and their willingness to project power abroad.

Niloofar Hamedi, a journalist, was the first to report what happened to Mahsa Amini. Journalism is a deadly profession in Russia. So is criticizing Putin. Putin’s people charged Navalny with being in a penal colony indefinitely because they tried and failed to kill him.

There’s more to it for people in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen than just the possibility that the Iranian regime could fall. It would change their lives in ways influenced by Tehran. Iran’s constitution calls for spreading its revolution.

The coming weeks are therefore crucial both on the battlefield, as well as in Europe and around the globe, experts suggest. “As ever, where Putin goes next depends on how the rest of the world is responding,” Giles said. “Russia’s attitude is shaped by the failure of Western countries to confront and deter it.”

Peter Bergen is a CNN national security analyst, a vice president at New America, and a professor at Arizona State University. Bergen wrote The Cost of Chaos: The Trump Administration and the World. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.

The Cold War Between the Soviet Union and the United States: Vladimir Giles, the Russian Counteroffensive, and the U.S.-Afghan War

Putin’s problems have only deepened in recent days with the surging Ukrainian counteroffensive that has seized key pockets of Russian-controlled territory, such as the transportation hub city of Lyman.

Giles said that there are a variety of things Russia could do to make the war personal for the people of Ukraine, and try to force governments to remove their support for them.

When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, they planned to install a puppet government and get out of the country as soon as it was feasible, as explained in a recent, authoritative book about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, “Afghan Crucible” by historian Elisabeth Leake.

The US was reluctant to support the Afghan resistance due to fear of a bigger conflict with the Soviet Union. It took until 1986 for the CIA to arm the Afghans with highly effective anti-aircraft Stinger missiles, which ended the Soviets’ total air superiority, eventually forcing them to withdraw from Afghanistan three years later.

The American weapons are a important part of the Russian fortunes on the battlefield. At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the US was also initially leery of deeper involvement, fearing a wider conflict with the Russians.

“These air defense systems are making a difference because many of the incoming missiles [this week] were actually shot down by the Ukrainian air defense systems provided by NATO Allies,” he said.

The withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan two years earlier was a factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

He knows that the Romanov monarchy was weakened by the Russian loss in 1905. Czar Nicholas II was responsible for the Russian Revolution during the First World War. The Romanov family was killed by the Bolsheviks.

Lawrence Freedman, the emeritus professor of war studies at King’s College London explains in his just-published book “Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine” how Putin plunged his countrymen into the Ukrainian morass.

If Russia is allowed to win, Putin’s war would mark the beginning of a new era of global instability, with less freedom, less peace and less prosperity for the world.

Editor’s Note: Michael Bociurkiw (@WorldAffairsPro) is a global affairs analyst. He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He is a regular contributor to CNN Opinion. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. CNN has more opinion.

Irrepressible Jubilation in Ukraine After the Kerch Straight Explosion: The First Time From the Beginning of the Cold War Becomes a Red Line

Even amid irrepressible jubilation here in Ukraine in the aftermath of a massive explosion that hit the hugely strategic and symbolic Kerch Straight bridge over the weekend, fears of retaliation by the Kremlin were never far away.

The Energy Minister of Ukranian said that 30% of the Ukrainian energy infrastructure was hit by Russian missiles on Monday and Tuesday. The minister told CNN that this was the “first time from the beginning of the war” that Russia has “dramatically targeted” energy infrastructure.

The significance of the strikes on central Kyiv, and close to the government quarter, cannot be overstated. Western governments should view this 229th day of the war as a red line.

As of midday local time, the area around my office in Odesa remained eerily quiet in between air raid sirens, with reports that three missiles and five kamikaze drones were shot down. (Normally at this time of the day, nearby restaurants would be heaving with customers, and chatter of plans for upcoming weddings and parties).

Just a few hours later, Zaporizhzhia, a southeastern city close to the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, was hit by a series of attacks on apartment buildings. At least 17 people were killed and several dozens injured.

In a video filmed outside his office Monday, a defiant President Volodymyr Zelensky said it appeared many of the 100 or so missile strikes across Ukraine were aimed at the country’s energy infrastructure. Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal stated that at least 11 important infrastructure facilities have been damaged and that some provinces are without power.

The residents of the northeastern city of Kharkiv stocked up on canned food and gas after more bombardments than the one in Kyiv. The Typsy Cherry is a local bar where they entertained themselves. The owner told The Times that the mood was cheerful. People had fun, and wondered when the electricity would come back. (Power came back hours later.)

Indeed, millions of people in cities across Ukraine will be spending most of the day in bomb shelters, at the urging of officials, while businesses have been asked to shift work online as much as possible.

The attacks could cause further harm to business confidence because so many asylum seekers are returning home.

It was a day of high drama in a war that’s still playing out. Viatrovych sees a pattern of behavior by Russian leaders, and he sees the actions of President Putin in that regard.

Hardwiring newly claimed territory with giant infrastructure projects seems to be a penchant of dictators. In 2018, Putin personally opened the Kerch bridge – Europe’s longest – by driving a truck across it. One of the first things China did after gaining control of Macau and Hong Kong was to connect the two territories with a world record sea crossing bridge. Two years of delays resulted in the opening of the road bridge.

The Kremlin Meme and the Security Issue for the West: Putin’s War with Ukraine and the Challenges of the Cold War

The meme that lit up social media channels was a joke about the explosion. Many shared their sense of jubilation via text messages.

Sitting was never an option for Putin, who was consumed by pride and self-interest. He unleashed more death and destruction in the only way he knew how, with the force that is likely to come from a former KGB agent.

It was also an act of selfish desperation: facing increasing criticism at home, including on state-controlled television, has placed Putin on unusually thin ice.

Washington and other allies should use telephone diplomacy to get China and India not to use more deadly weapons.

Against a man who probes for weakness and tends to exploit divisions, the most important thing for the West right now is to show unity and resolve. Western governments also need to realize that rhetoric and sanctions have little if no impact on Putin’s actions. If they want to speed up integration of high technology weapons, they need to keep giving arms to the Ukrainians, and send military experts closer to the battlefield.

It’s important that defense systems are high tech to protect the energy infrastructure around the country. With winter just around the corner, the need to protect heating systems is urgent.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/10/opinions/putin-russia-war-ukraine-strikes-crimea-bridge-bociurkiw/index.html

The U.S. and the Middle East: The Russian War Against Putin and the Kremlin’s New Political Constraints

Turkey and the gulf states which receive many Russian tourists need to be pressured to join the west’s push to further isolation Russia with trade and travel restrictions.

The war is going towards a new phase, not the usual one. Keir Giles is a senior consultant at Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia Programme and he said, “this is now the third, fourth, possibly fifth war that we’ve been observing.”

American and Ukrainian officials say that despite the fact that the war has favored the Ukrainians, the fighting is likely to continue for months more. The conflict will be more difficult in December, if President Putin is willing to escalate the fight, as energy prices rise, and the political landscape could change.

It means that, as winter approaches, the stakes of the war have been raised once more. Giles said that Russia would like to keep it up. The recent successes of the Ukrainians have sent out a message to the Kremlin. “They are able to do things that take us by surprise, so let’s get used to it,” Giles said.

Monday’s attacks, and further strikes throughout the week, were evidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin lashing out after a series of setbacks in the war that have put him under pressure domestically.

The Road to War with Ukraine: The Impact of Russian Counter-Ofensives on Ukraine and the Resilience of the Power Supply System in Ukraine

The senior Ukrainian military official, Oleskii Hromov, said last week that his forces have regained some 120 settlements since the beginning of the year. Ukraine said it had liberated more settlements in Kherson.

Russia said Thursday its forces would help evacuate residents of occupied Kherson to other areas, as Ukraine’s offensive continued to make gains in the region. The announcement came after the head of the Moscow-backed administration appealed to the Kremlin for help moving residents out of harm’s way, signalling that Russian forces were struggling in the face of Ukrainian advances.

The counter-offensives that have taken place in the last few weeks has shifted the war’s pace and disproved assumptions made in theWest and Russia during the summer that Ukrainians were not strong enough to seize ground.

“The Russians are playing for the whistle – (hoping to) avoid a collapse in their frontline before the winter sets in,” Samir Puri, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the author of “Russia’s Road to War with Ukraine,” told CNN.

“If they can get to Christmas with the frontline looking roughly as it is, that’s a huge success for the Russians given how botched this has been since February.”

Faced with growing setbacks, the Kremlin appointed a new overall commander of Russia’s invasion. But there is little sign that Gen. Sergey Surovikin can lead his forces back onto the front foot before the end of the year, given the pace and cost of the Ukrainian counter-offensives.

If the Russians got a big blow in Donbas, they would send a strong signal to the other side, and the impact of rising energy prices on Europe would be felt.

“There are so many reasons why there is an incentive for Ukraine to get things done quickly,” Giles said. The winter energy crises in Europe and the damage done to Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure will always be a test of resilience for the country and its Western backers.

Ukraine’s national electricity company, Ukrenergo, says it has stabilized the power supply to Kyiv and central regions of Ukraine after much of the country’s electricity supply was disrupted by Russian missile attacks on Monday and Tuesday. The Prime Minister of Ukraine is asking residents of the country to reduce energy use during peak hours and to fix damaged equipment.

Western assessments suggest that Moscow is not capable of keeping up with Russia’s aerial bombardment, and experts think it will not form a recurrent pattern.

Jeremy Fleming, the UK’s spy chief, said that Russian commanders on the ground knew that their supplies were running out.

Russia uses only a small supply of precision weapons in this role which may make it hard for Putin to disrupt ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensives.

The Royal United Services Institute’s Justin Bronk said that the Ukrainian success rate against Russian cruise missiles has gone up since the start of the invasion.

The Russian military doesn’t have the equipment to conduct a high-tempo missile assault into the future, hence the occasional missile strikes that are reserved for extreme outrage.

Security issues for Ukraine: a warning on the arrival of Russian troops in Belarus and prospects for the reopening of a northern front

Russian troops began arriving in Belarus Oct. 15, which Minsk said were the first convoys of almost 9,000 service members expected as part of a “regional grouping” of forces allegedly to protect Belarus from threats at the border from Ukraine and the West.

“The reopening of a northern front would be another new challenge for Ukraine,” Giles said. Should Putin focus on reclaiming the territory that was captured by the Ukranians, Russia can get a new route into the region.

Now Zelensky will hope for more supplies in the short-term as he seeks to drive home those gains. The leader wanted to highlight that more than 50% of missiles and drones launched atUkraine in a second wave of strikes on Tuesday were brought down.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that Ukraine needed “more” systems to better halt missile attacks, ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

Ukraine “badly needed” modern systems such as the IRIS-T that arrived this week from Germany and the NASAMS expected from the United States, Bronk said.

How Did Russia Think Ukraine Before Feb. 20, 2022? A Brief History of Russia’s Military and Military History with the Belgorod Bombing Case

It is not to say mobilized forces will not be used. If used in support roles, like drivers or refuelers, they might ease the burden on the remaining parts of Russia’s exhausted professional army. They could fill out units along the line of contact, as well as man checkpoint in the rear. They are, however, unlikely to become a capable fighting force. Already there are signs of discipline problems among mobilized soldiers in Russian garrisons.

In that case, Mr. Putin could lash out more broadly against Ukraine. If missile supplies hold out, the attacks in the past week can be expanded across Ukraine, while Russia could target the Ukrainian leadership with strikes or special operations.

The blasts, which Russia attributed to Ukrainian shelling, came a day after another sign of disarray in Russia’s once-vaunted military machine: Two men opened fire on fellow Russian soldiers at a training camp in the Belgorod region, killing 11 and wounding 15 before being killed themselves.

Nuclear deterrence exercises are being held by NATO. NATO has warned Russia not to use nuclear weapons on Ukraine but says the “Steadfast Noon” drills are a routine, annual training activity.

Russian agents detained eight people on Oct. 12 suspected of carrying out a large explosion on a bridge to Crimea, including Russian, Ukrainian and Armenian citizens.

The United Nations General Assembly roundly condemned Russia’s move to illegally annex four regions of Ukraine. Four countries voted with Russia in favor of the Ukrainian resolution, while 35 abstained.

It’s difficult to make wartime assessments when the war has gone through different phases, with one side having an advantage. The Ukrainians defeated the Russians in the battle for Kyiv, only to see Russia grind forward during the brutal fighting in the Donbas over the summer.

How did people imagine Ukraine before Feb. 24, 2022? If pressed, some might have conjured mail-order brides and shaven-head gangsters roaming one big post-Soviet Chernobyl. But most probably didn’t think even that; instead, they didn’t imagine Ukraine at all. Western political scandals and Russian war making made the country a thing of the past on most people’s radar. One Western journalist recently confessed to me that they believed thatUkraine was just like Russia, but without all the nonsense.

The strengthening relationship between Moscow and Tehran has drawn the attention of Iran’s rivals and foes in the Middle East, of NATO members and of nations that are still – at least in theory – interested in restoring the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which aimed to delay Iran’s ability to build an atomic bomb.

The direction of human history is at stake, argued the historian Yuval Noah Harari, because a victory by Russia would make it easier for other countries to wage war, something that most nations had rejected prior to the Second World War.

Much of what happens today far from the battlefields still has repercussions there. The US accused the Saudis of assisting Russia to raise its oil revenues when they decided to slash production last month. (An accusation the Saudis deny).

Syria’s airspace, bordering Israel, is controlled by Russian forces, which have allowed Israel to strike Iranian weapon flows to Hezbollah, a militia sworn to Israel’s destruction. Gantz has offered to help Ukraine develop defensive systems and it will reportedly provide new military communications systems, but no missile shields.

Russia’s assault on Ukrainian ports and its patrols of Black Sea halted Ukraine’s grain exports just after the war started, causing food prices to skyrocket. The head of the World Food Program, David Beasley, warned in May that the world was “marching toward starvation.”

In fact, the war in Ukraine is already affecting everyone, everywhere. The conflict is making fuel prices higher, which leads to a global explosion of inflation.

Family budgets, individual lives and more are affected by higher prices. They pack a political punch when they have such strong momentum. Inflation, worsened by the war, has put incumbent political leaders on the defensive in countless countries.

The Joy of Freedom: Locals in Kherson, Ukraine, at the End of the November 4, 2016 Russian Retinction Campaign with the United Nations

There is more than one on the fringes. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader who could become speaker of the House after next week’s US elections, suggested the GOP might choose to reduce aid to Ukraine. The letter calling for negotiations was withdrawn by the Progressives. Evelyn Farkas, a former Pentagon official during the Obama administration, said they’re all bringing “a big smile to Putin’s face.”

Republicans warned that funding for Ukraine could be curbed if the Democrats win control of the US House of Representatives in this week’s election.

Turkish President Erdogan will meet with the Swedish Prime Minister on Tuesday. It is necessary for Sweden to meet certain conditions before it becomes a member of NATO.

The UN General Assembly is scheduled to discuss a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the topic is expected to be Ukraine.

On November 2, Russia rejoined a deal to export grain and other agricultural goods from Ukranian. Russia had halted part of its part in the deal after it was accused of launching a drone attack on the Black Sea ships.

$400 million additional aid to Ukraine was announced by the Pentagon on November 4th.

Some in the crowd of locals sang the national anthem while others shouted “Slava Ukrayini” as the crew filmed them in Kherson.

Locals have also been climbing onto the tops of the buildings, including the cinema, in the square to erect Ukrainian flags. Soldiers driving through are greeted with cheers and asked to sign autographs on flags.

After living under Russian occupation, people have had terrifying experiences like the one a teenager had today, when he said he was taken and beaten by Russian soldiers. Residents tell us that they are exhausted and overwhelmed by the new-found freedom.

People are out in the square celebrating. Robertson said that people are wearing the Ukrainian flag, are hugging the soldiers, and come out to see what it is like to have freedom.

Katerina described the liberation as the “best day” of her life after eight months under Russian occupation. “Our town is free, my street is free,” she told CNN.

The retreat represents a major blow for Putin’s war effort in Ukraine. Kherson was the only Ukrainian regional capital that Russian forces had captured since February’s invasion. Their withdrawal east across the Dnipro cedes large swathes of land that Russia has occupied since the early days of the war, and that Putin had formally declared as Russian territory just five weeks ago.

It was hard for everyone. A Kherson resident told CNN on Saturday that every family waited for their soldiers during the Russian occupation of the country.

The Ukrainian military is about to embark on a major urban operation according to a CNN military analyst. What you are going to see is a methodical operation to clear buildings of potential booby traps and mines.

On Friday evening, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a nighttime video of celebrations in the city, where a crowd was waving flags and chanting “ZSU,” the Ukrainian acronym for the armed forces.

The southern operational command of the Ukrainian military said earlier in the day that Russian forces were quickly loading into boats that would be good for crossing the river.

For much of the journey through smaller towns and settlements, our team of CNN journalists was forced to drive through diversions and fields: bridges over canals were blown up, and roads were full of craters and littered with anti-tank mines.

The Russian-American War in Kherson and the U.S. – What Has It Learned Since the Crimes of March 3?

On Friday, Russians announced that they had withdrawn from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the southern part of Kherson and the regional capital of the region had been left to the Ukrainians.

The outskirts of the city, which had been occupied by Russian forces since March 3, were deserted, with no military presence except for a Ukrainian checkpoint around 5 miles outside of the city center, where half a dozen soldiers waved CNN’s crew in.

The city’s residents have no water, no internet connection and little power. The mood was high as a CNN crew entered the city center on Saturday.

The military presence is still limited, but huge cheers erupt from crowds on the street every time a truck full of soldiers drives past, with Ukrainian soldiers being offered soup, bread, flowers, hugs and kisses by elated passersby.

An old man and woman hugged a young soldier, with hands on his shoulder as CNN stopped to regroup.

With the occupiers gone, everyone wants you to understand what they’ve been through, how euphoric they feel right now, and how much they’re grateful to the countries who have helped them.

The Russians could theoretically shell them here if they wanted to, and everyone we’ve spoken to is aware of that. It is also unclear whether all Russian troops have left Kherson and the wider region. There is still uncertainty behind this euphoria.

The G-20 summit continues in Indonesia, where the Russia-Ukraine war and its global economic fallout loom large. On the sidelines Monday, President Biden discussed Ukraine among other issues with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Biden is to meet the British Prime Minister.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited Kyiv, Nov. 8, to talk about world hunger and press for renewal of the grain deal, due to expire Nov. 19. That followed a Ukraine trip the week before by the top U.S. diplomat on European and Eurasian affairs, Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried.

Following Brittney Griner’s release from Russian prison, fans, friends and family are celebrating the basketball player’s return to the U.S. Meanwhile, some Republican politicians have been complaining about the prisoner swap and other U.S. citizens still held by Russia.

U.N. climate conference summary: “The war in Ukraine has ruined Paris” and “Russia is destroying Putin,” with new measures targeting Russian oil revenue

The war in Ukraine was a serious issue at the U.N. climate conference. Ukraine used the COP27 summit to talk about how the war has caused “ecocide,” while experts pointed out the war is driving a new push for fossil fuels.

Ukrainian authorities have been stepping up raids on churches accused of links to Moscow, and many are waiting to see if the Ukrainian president follows through on his threat to ban the Russian Orthodox Church.

The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, is in Paris for a dinner with the French President.

Also in France, on Tuesday, the country is set to co-host a conference with Ukraine in support of Ukrainians through the winter, with a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

New measures targeting Russian oil revenue took effect Dec. 5. They include a price cap and a European Union embargo on most Russian oil imports and a Russian oil price cap.

Zelenskyy said that the city of Bakhmut had been turned into burned ruins by Russian forces. Fighting has been fierce there as Russia attempts to advance in the city in the eastern Donbas region.

President Zelenskyy had a phone call with President Biden on Dec. 11, as well as the leaders of France and Turkey, in an apparent stepping up of diplomacy over the 9 1/2-month-long Russian invasion.

Two months after independence Ukraine, a Russian missile slammed into a whitewashed building in the center of Kyiv

Russia began to expand with Ukraine. Many Russians think their empire can’t exist without Ukraine. That’s why they keep coming back,” said Volodymyr Viatrovych, a member of Ukraine’s parliament and a prominent historian.

The Russians destroyed the suburb of Bucha in the first days of the war. The Russians invaded Ukraine before dawn on February 24th and Viatrovych immediately sent his wife and son to western Ukraine for safety.

Martial law was declared after an emergency session of parliament. By 2 p.m. that day, he received a rifle so he could join the security forces defending the capital.

In 1918, Ukraine declared independence from Russia, and the first place it took place was in an elegant, whitewashed building in the center of Kyiv.

A small reminder of that history came two months ago. That’s when a Russian missile slammed into the street outside the Kyiv House of Teachers.

The explosion blew out the windows in the hall where independence was declared in 1918. The windows have been boarded. There are shards of glass on the floor.

The director of the House of Teachers thinks that there are parallels to a century ago. This building was damaged in the fighting. It’s damaged again. You don’t have to worry. We will rebuild everything.”

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/16/1142176312/ukraine-ongoing-fight-to-free-itself-from-russia

The Russian Empire is the Only Real Guarantor of Ukraine’s Territorial Integrity: Vladimir Putin’s 1991 Referendum on Independence

Andrew Weiss, with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, notes that during the Soviet era, Kremlin leaders repeatedly crushed Ukrainian protests and rebellions — which helps explain why Ukrainians are fighting so fiercely today.

“If you look at all the hardships that Ukraine experienced in the 20th century, and they’re vast, this is the moment where all the wrongs of the last hundred plus years need to be redressed,” he said.

The referendum on independence was held in December 1991, and Ukrainians thought they had solved the issue. They voted overwhelmingly in favor of going their own way. The Soviet Union collapsed within a month.

“I have said it before, but I want to say it again: Russia can be the only real guarantor of Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” Putin said earlier this month.

Because “if he’s losing a war, especially a war of his own making, he doesn’t survive,” he said. The outcome may signal the end of the empire, not just of Putin’s era. It’s 21st century. It’s time for empires to go.”

Kasparov was still living in Russia 15 years ago when he entered politics and challenged Putin’s hold on power. He left Russia and now lives in New York after it became known his safety was at risk.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/16/1142176312/ukraine-ongoing-fight-to-free-itself-from-russia

The problem of the future: Kiev’s ambassador to the United States, Valeriy Chaly, on the role of the security bloc in the war on the battlefield

Many military analysts warn the war is unlikely to produce a clear resolution on the battlefield. They say it’s likely to require negotiations and compromises.

Valeriy Chaly, Ukraine’s former ambassador to the United States, said the region would be more stable if Ukraine wins the war and joins NATO. This is what Ukraine’s government wants, though joining the alliance is highly unlikely in the near term.

He said that being a buffer or gray zone is not good from a diplomatic point of view. If you are a gray zone between the two security blocs, everyone wants to make a move. This has happened with another country.

“I believe our generation has an opportunity to put an end to this. He pointed out that Ukrainians are more united and prepared to fight than they were in 1918.